I think I have a new favorite meal: Chop up some chicken and apple sausage and brown it in a frying pan. Set the sausage aside and scramble an egg in the pan. Just before the egg is set the way you like it, add back in the sausage and finish scrambling. Transfer to a plate and put a slice (or two!) of smoked gouda on the top to melt. 

I made the decision tonight to go back to college. I've been batting it around for awhile now but I finally decided to do it. I want to be a nutritionist and I really want to work with bariatric patients. Being a bariatric patient myself and hearing stories from other bariatric patients about their horror stories with their nutritionists, many of which have no idea either what it's like or any idea of the sometimes special needs of bariatric patients, really inspired me. The hubby is supportive of this idea. Now I have plenty of time to secure financing (go go federal student loans) and get all my ducks in a row for next semester since this one is just starting. I'm really excited, though, and just a little nervous. 

I haven't done a lot of artwork recently but, here are three recent pieces. 1. Beware Dark Places, 2. Death Becomes Her and 3. Mary Annette. 
Clicking the thumbnail will open a new window. No nudity so should be safe for work.

I posted this on my separate and not on LJ weight loss surgery blog. If anybody wants a link, hit me up in comments. I decided NOT to put this on the weight loss surgery filter. Nope not sorry for that. :) Enjoy.

Yes, I am a foodie. I enjoyed my food pre-surgery (perhaps a bit TOO much). I enjoy what I’m eating now. Saying you enjoy your food post surgery is almost like kicking a puppy or poking sharp sticks at kittens. Enjoy your food? How dare you? That’s how we got fat! And before anybody gets up in arms, I have not been attacked or anything like that, it’s just a general attitude I’ve seen along with a general fear of actually enjoying food (and thus eating their way through their surgery) or that someone who had surgery will never be able to enjoy food again.

Enough I say! No more fear. No more mourning your enjoyment of food. You can and will enjoy food again. I’m not even a month out and can barely eat four tablespoons of food and I enjoy every single bite. Yes, for those of you who have never had weight loss surgery or do not know anybody who has had it, you read that correctly - four tablespoons.

How you might ask can I enjoy eating when I can eat so little? It’s not hard, I promise. Since I can eat so little, I have to make what I can eat count and I do not just mean nutritionally. It also has to taste good. Yes, this is possible eating a low carb, high protein diet. Low carb in my case does not mean no carb. I can have up to fifty grams of carbs a day which, I admit, does not sound like much but remember: four tablespoons of food at a time.

I do not feel as if I need to sacrifice flavor, taste or texture (barring having cottage cheese with some sugar free fruit preserves for breakfast, but I happen to like cottage cheese) in order to eat healthily. Yes, there will be times when I do have to be more conscious of what I eat because of that, by making sure of my choices, but that’s what it will take to be successful with my sleeve. I do not feel deprived and, for me, that is one of the keys. The minute we start feeling deprived, we will find ways to sabotage ourselves, even if that is unconscious.

Nearly a year ago, I weaned myself off processed sugars, rice, potatoes, pasta and bread. This was a huge thing for me because I was (and still am) a carb addict. I knew that I, personally, could not eat those things and be successful. Because of that, I was able to lose an amazing sixty pounds pre-surgery, all by myself. During that entire time, I never felt deprived. I never felt as if I was dieting. Now that I am not limited solely to liquids, I do not feel like I am dieting now. Yes, I have a diet, I am not on a diet. To me, that’s a big difference. Yes, I journal everything I eat. You read that correctly, everything. It is important to myself to be accountable. It is too easy to lose track over the course of a day of what exactly you are eating. Too easy to lose focus. I’m not perfect, you know.

If you are unsure of tasty choices, there are plenty of weight loss surgery blogs written by foodies out there. They have recipes, pictures, stories to share. Many of them are in my blogroll, draw inspiration and encouragement from them as I did. In reading the stories these people had to share (as well as recipe and food ideas), I learned that I did not have to give up my enjoyment of food.

So, yes, I am a foodie. I will continue to be a foodie. I will not apologize for that and I refuse to feel guilty for enjoying food even after having weight loss surgery. I urge others to let go of your guilt, stop mourning the fact you could eat an entire large pizza in one sitting or can no longer cover a huge dinner plate with food. Embrace your tool whether it is a gastric sleeve, a DS, an RNY or a gastric band. Use your tool and enjoy the food you put in your mouth. Make good, healthy choices but do not deprive yourselves by sacrificing taste or texture.

Food is not the enemy. I’ve come to learn it never really was. The real enemy was my head and the way I looked at food. The real enemy was my relationship with food. It never was a healthy relationship in the past but, that is changing. Slowly but surely. All I have to do, all anybody has to do, is believe.

Okay, so a bit late on this one but, I've been either busy or sick, one of the two, for the past several days.

I loved this movie. I have always been a closet Abba fan, and I found myself singing along to all my old favorites. I thought Meryl Streep was fantastic and Christine Baranski never fails to make me laugh. Her rendition of "Does Your Mother Know" had me in stitches. This one counts as one of those 'feel good' movies, something I would watch if I were down in the dumps to make me smile.

My only complaint? Pierce Brosnan should never sing. :P

For a movie that really was not very good, it sure was fun to watch. I remember loving this movie back in the 80's when I was a lot younger and a whole lot dumber. If nothing else, I can appreciate it for the music. Who didn't love ELO back in the early 80's? Well, except for those of you who weren't born yet. Olivia Newton John was at her adorable best too. No, she really wasn't that great of an actress as far as her lines sounding like she was reading but she was luminous and had an undeniable screen presence. I do not know if Gene Kelly appeared in many more movies after that but, it was great seeing him in a movie and on roller skates!!!

Of course, watching this made me want to go see the new stage revival of Xanadu (http://xanaduonbroadway.com/). Maybe I'll get to in May when the tour hits Wilmington, Delaware.

Ingredient list: Approx 1 pound of thin sliced sandwich size pepperoni, room temperature. It molds much easier to the muffin tins if it is not fresh out of the fridge cold. If you do not have the larger slices, 'regular' size will work but you will need several of them to line the bottom and partially up the sides of the tin.

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese plus extra for topping
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Pizza sauce - for this I used the canned Don Pepinos - it only has 4 grams of carbs (2 from sugar) per quarter cup serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare one muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (the pepperoni is greasy but the cheese tends to overflow and stick to the pan).

In a bowl mix together the cheeses. Season as you like, mixing well - I used garlic powder, basil and oregano.

The recipe says to place the cheese mixture in the middle of the pepperoni and the mold it into the tin. I found it easier to mold the pepperoni into the tin first and then add the cheese.

Spoon a bit of the sauce in the center of each cup - I used less than a tablespoon for each cup and sprinkle more of the mozzarella on top.

Place in preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes (more or less depending on your oven).

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Notes: I am on a very carb restricted diet right now and have been both craving pizza and lasagna. My husband suggested finding a recipe for this since he had tried something similar years ago when he was on the Atkins diet. The original recipe called for cream cheese instead of the ricotta and frozen spinach (thawed). The cream cheese sounded like it would be far too rich and I'm not a big spinach fan, so I omitted the spinach and substituted the ricotta for the cream cheese. What I ended up with was delicious and really satisfied the craving I had been having.

This contains a bit more fat than I would normally intake but that can be helped by using lighter versions of the cheese. Since this is not something I would eat every day or even every week, the extra fat for one day isn't that big of a deal. I will definitely be making this again.

This one was done for a friend. Behind the cut. Should be work safe but I wish to preserve your friends pages.

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Comment to this post if you want to play, and I'll give you a letter. Then you should post five songs to your own LJ starting with that letter.

dahliablue gave me "S" for Snazzy

Like her I couldn't limit myself to just 5.

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